Soft Skills

Like other master degrees MBA has also evolved over the years. It is not only a mere degree of Business Administration; rather now it has many specializations, many programs and much diverse scope. In this article, we will discuss specializations you can take for your MBA after engineering or any degree, the best MBA courses in the world, the scope of each MBA course, the expected salaries and many more. Just sit back and read it through the whole article.

Let’s get started with the diverse degree and specialization MBA can offer along with the expected salaries and future potential. Then we will look at other aspects of the MBA.

List of MBA Courses

Let’s start off with the traditional courses MBA offers and then gradually we will explore more avenues and degree of specialization.

MBA in Finance

This is one of the traditional fields in which students can pursue their career. It has varied scope and the opportunity is much diverse as it is comparatively a difficult specialization than Human Resource and Marketing.

Best Institutes: All over the world, the best institute for finance is The Wharton School followed by London Business School and Harvard Business School. For that you need to score more than 700 in your GMAT. In India, IIM Calcutta is the best institute for Finance specialization, other than that FMS and IFIM are good options.

Expected Salary: In India the salary ranges from $4000 to $30,000 and if you compare the salary all over the world the range is from $30,000 to $90,000, however the salary varies as per the institute you choose to do MBA from, the country and the company.

Future scope: The future potential for MBA (Finance) is amazing. First thing you should keep in mind is that your competition is with CFA (US level) and CA students. The more equipped you become, the more opportunities you would be able to create for yourself.

MBA in Human Resource Management

If you have a knack toward handling people and tendency to understand complex nature of different human being every day, this is the career choice you should make. It is all about people handling, so get yourself ready from the foundation of human psychology.

Best Institutes: If you would like to do your MBA from foreign universities, the best is Stanford University. Other than that you can also go for University of Chicago or else North-western University. In India, the best institute for Human Resource is XLRI, Jamshedpur without any doubt. Other than that you can opt for Symbiosis Institute of Business Management and Management Development Institute.

Expected Salary: In India as a human resource professional you can expect a salary around $4,000 to $25,000. It can be more or less depending on the company and the institute you choose to do your MBA from. Around the world, the scope for human resource professional is much higher, thus the salary often goes up to $100,000 if you would get an opportunity in a Fortune 100 company.

Future Scope: Human resources professionals have great career scope if they build themselves up regularly. The better their human skills, better their career opportunities. If they do well in their career, they can go up to Director (HR) or VP in Human Resource.

MBA in Marketing

This specialization is for people who love to communicate with other people and are bold, enthusiastic and charismatic. If you don’t possess these characteristics, nothing to worry. There are plenty of examples where introverts have turned out to be the best salesmen in the history of the company. Only thing you need to train yourself to do things that you need to do on a sales call or on a marketing campaign.

Best Institutes: All over the world, the best marketing institute is The Kellogg School of Management. Other than that you can go for Harvard Business School and The Wharton School. In India, for MBA in marketing, S.P. Jain Institute of Management is best. Other than that you can opt for Faculties of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Jamunalal Bajaj Institute of Management.

Expected Salary: Compensation of marketing specialization is huge because the earning potential is much higher. As marketing is a direct function which brings in revenue for a company, people who belong to marketing domain are paid very well. In India, the salary ranges from $10,000 to $35,000. All over the world, most certainly the salary range is much higher, i.e. starting from $40,000 to more than a lakh per annum.

Future Scope: Usually as the marketing people is directly involved with the market, they have the opportunity to grow in the business and become the future CEO of a company. As they understand the market well, they can also strategize well.

MBA in Information Technology

This is the age of massive revolution and that revolution is brought forward by disruption technologies like internet. If you have zeal to learn the nitty-gritty of computers, information system, how they operate and how applications are being programmed and executed you should opt for IT specialization. You need to also keep in mind that MBA in IT doesn’t mean you need to be only technically sound, rather it also needs a high level of business acumen to prosper.

Best Institutes: If you are interested to explore opportunities in foreign universities, the three top most business schools are MIT Sloan, Harvard Business School and Stanford respectively. In India, MBA in IT has superb demand. The top most college which offer MBA in IT is IIM Calcutta. After that you can also look for S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Management Development Institute.

Expected Salary: The salary differs as per the company and the institute you choose to do your MBA in IT from. In India, you can expect a salary of around $5000 to $30,000 after passing out from MBA. In the world the scope and salary both are exponential. If you have an MBA in IT and can tap into the opportunity in USA or Australia, then you are as valuable as a computer engineer passing out from a university. Your salary will range from $60,000 to $90,000 per annum.

Future Scope: The future scope of an MBA in IT is multi-fold. As you have both the technical expertise and the business acumen, your scope for the future cannot be over-emphasized. In this age of digitization, the value an IT professional can bring is massive and thus you can easily grow up to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in any big company over time.

MBA in Agri-business

This is a new field that is emerging and India is a good ground for expanding your knowledge and expertise. As most of the GDP growth comes from Agriculture in India, the potency of this degree is far better than any other recently evolving MBA program. If you have a knack for agriculture and business, you can juggle your passion with an MBA in agri-business.

Best Institutes: In India, the potential for agri-business is magnificent. The best institute to enrol for your MBA in Agri-business is IIM, Ahmedabad. Other than that you can choose National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management and Indian Institute of Forest Management.

Expected Salary: The salary range in India is very promising. It ranges from $8,000 to $40,000. Foreign universities are still experimenting with this area of specialization.

Future Scope: The world is realizing the value of Agriculture. And India is the forerunner of this global revolution. This is comparatively a new field. If you can stick to this in your career you can grow multi-fold in near future.

MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility

This is the top most specialization of MBA in the world according to a recent study. Though India has yet to fully realize the value of this area, the opportunity in this field is magnificent. This area emphasizes on the value of contributing to the internal and external stakeholders beyond the area of business. More and more students are getting interested in this area of specialization. If you are a believer in altruism, you should opt for this area for your MBA studies.

Best Institutes: All over the world, this area is making a huge impact. The top most business schools which are teaching corporate social responsibility are Harvard Business School, Stanford University and INSEAD. In India, this area is yet to make its impact. However, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore are two institutes in India which are teaching corporate social responsibility. Other than that even Mysore University offers this specialization.

Expected Salary: The salary ranges around $35,000 to $60,000 per annum.

Future Scope: In India, now it is mandatory for a company whose turnover is $20 million to contribute 2% of their profit. It shows that even India is realizing the value of corporate social responsibility. Even if it is comparatively a new field to further your study, the potential is huge and you can truly make your mark by opting for this area of specialization.

MBA in Operations Management

This is also relatively new as a specialization for MBA. In this area of specialization, you need to study two parts of operations and production. First part is how the service operations are done and second how the manufacturing operations are being done in a company of repute. If you are a keen planner and love to go in detail of everything, this field will interest you a lot.

Best Institutes: If you would be able to do this specialization from foreign universities nothing like it. The best options available for this area of study are Harvard Business School, MIT (Sloan), INSEAD and The Wharton School. If you opt for Indian institute you have options. In IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, operations management is taught. Other than that, you can also opt for S.P. Jain Institute of Management.

Expected Salary: As it is relatively new field, the salary range is lower than the finance and marketing specializations. But if the professionals are eager to grow they can quickly reach the level. Initially after coming out of MBA, a student of operations management can expect around $30,000 to $40,000 in USA and UK.

Future Scope: Very few people in management understand the detail of how manufacturing is done. If you can master the field of operations management, the future looks bright for you. You can quickly make your move toward the top most position of a business if you have the zeal to learn continuously and have growth mind-set.

MBA in International Business/Management

Now the business is globalized. It is not restricted to a single country or region. It is spread over everywhere and thus there is a dire need to connect everything with an invisible chord. Because the culture are diverse, business etiquettes are different and way of operations are varied. To properly make a linkup between countries you need certain skills and acumens which MBA in International Business can provide you. It is also an evolving field of management and has a lot of scope in the market today.

Best Institutes: MBA in International Business are taught in IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad and Indian School of Business if you opt for Indian B-Schools. In other countries you can go for INSEAD which is the best in teaching you international business or else you can choose Harvard Business School, Stanford University and London Business School.

Expected Salary: Since this is not a country oriented job the pay package is superb. You can earn around $10,000 to $50,000 if you are a pass-out from a reputed university or institute India or abroad.

Future Scope: With International Business degree the world would be within your fist. You can be now International Business Development Manager, International Marketing Manager, Global Business Manager or Investment Banking manager and gradually you can go to the top of any business.

MBA in Strategy

Strategy earns the revenue of any business. If one is a good strategist s/he would be able to optimize all the resources the company has and utilize them for achieving the new target the company has set for itself. Strategy is king and that’s why the world has been realizing the value of emphasizing on strategy in MBA specializations. If you have a knack to solve the problems and think ahead of time, you can opt for this area of specialization.

Best Institutes: You can opt for Harvard Business School and INSEAD for doing your MBA in Strategy if you are looking for foreign universities. In India, you can go for IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta and S.P. Jain Institute of Management.

Expected Salary: As strategy is almost similar to marketing function, the salary is almost in the same range. You can expect around $10,000 to $50,000 per annum.

Future Scope: The best strategist becomes the CEO of the company. So if you are wondering what would be your future potential if you have completed your MBA in Strategy, don’t think at all! You can become the next superstar of the company if you keep growing and keep learning.

MBA in Hospital Management

Healthcare often is the best industry for managers. Although only recently this field of MBA is growing importance. The people who have completed their MBBS are now getting interested for MBA in Hospital Management. Not only medical doctors, people who are eager to explore the opportunities in Healthcare Industry are also opting for Hospital Management. It is comparatively complex than other field of management, thus the scope and opportunities are constantly increasing.

Best Institutes: In India, this area of specialization is very popular. The top most institutes like Faculty of Management Studies, Symbiosis Centre of Health Care, Tata Institute of Social Science are teaching Hospital management. In most of the universities abroad they are teaching hospital management which they call hospital administration.

Expected Salary: The salary range is higher than normal MBA's because most of the graduates are often doctors. The salary ranges from $20,000 to $70,000 per annum.

Future Scope: In this field students can opt for administration completely or can take over the major stake in a business i.e. the position of the CEO. They can start off as a Manager or Senior Manager in hospitals and nursing homes.

MBA in Entrepreneurship

The twenty first century is the age of millennial. They want to start their own thing, make their own art and create something that will leave a legacy around the world. And thus entrepreneurship is the hot option for them. If there is a course designed just for them, they would definitely explore. And that is MBA in Entrepreneurship is all about. More and more students are opting for this specialization because they want to learn the basic of the craft which make a business tick.

Best Institutes: In India there are IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta and also Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade where you can pursue your MBA in Entrepreneurship. In foreign universities you can opt for Harvard Business School, Stanford University and The Wharton School.

Expected Salary: The matter of salary is immaterial in this area of specialization. Because you get to choose how much you would like to earn. You would be the owner of the business, you would decide how much risk you would bear and how much revenue you would want to generate.

Future Scope: Your future begins now. You can be the CEO, CFO or MD of your company. Or if you would like to join with your friends or family business you can hold a position as per the need of the business.

The above are the list of MBA specializations which have maximum potential as of now. However, according to a study it is found that the following are the top 10 MBA specializations in the world today –

Corporate Social Responsibility

Entrepreneurship

Finance

Information Technology/Management

Innovation (It is not mostly popular in USA and Europe)

International Business/Management

Leadership (Evolution of Human Resource Management)

Marketing

Operations Management

Strategy

The world is quickly evolving into a different dimension and what was relevant before, now has very meagre or little relevance. Thus the above specializations don’t contain the same curricula of traditional MBA's. The following are the topmost MBA universities in the world according to Forbes Magazine.

IMD, Switzerland

Insead, France

SDA Bocconi, Italy

London, United Kingdom

IE Business School, Spain

Oxford, United Kingdom

Warwick, United Kingdom

Cambridge, United Kingdom

National University, Singapore

Cranfield, United Kingdom

The most surprising fact is that Harvard, Stanford University are now not in the top 10 Business Schools in the world. From this we can understand how fast globalization is taking over and shifting everything that we have known to be true.

Now is the time to discuss about the salary part which is very important for any kind of career. Let’s see the top countries which pay the potential MBA students the highest (all in US dollars)

Australia – Provides top most salary, around $133,000 per annum (p.a.)

Switzerland – Next on the list. Provides $129,000 p.a.

Denmark – Third in the row. Offers around $121,000 p.a.

UK – Fourth in the list. Pays around $106,000 p.a.

France – Fifth, provides around $100,800 p.a.

US – Sixth in the row. Offers $98,300 p.a.

Brazil – Seventh. Provides $97,200 p.a.

Germany – Eighth. Pays $93,700 p.a.

Spain – Ninth. Offers around $92,900 p.a.

Canada – Tenth. Compensates around $91,600 p.a.

These are things you need to keep in mind while searching for the best MBA institute and specialization and best paying jobs.